Praise the Lord! God has been good to us on each day of the past week and we need to be grateful to God for being good to us. In fact, we do not deserve God’s favor in our lives because of all the wrongs we have been committing before Him. However, God, being the God of holiness and justice (Psalm 85:10; 145:17; Isaiah 61:8-9; Amos 5:24) in His great compassion, loved the world and sent His One and Only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who is sinless, to go through the ransom death on the cross (John 3:16) and bear the pain and suffering we were supposed to go through in order to declare us as righteous (while we were still sinners [Romans 5:8-9]) and free us from eternal condemnation. God made Him like a kernel of wheat that gave up its life in order to produce many grains. We are so privileged to be called the sons and daughters of God. He chose us to be His very own (1 John 3:1-2). Now, it’s our turn to recount God’s blessings in our lives over the years and be grateful for everything God has done for us. Also, let us testify about this to others so that we may help lead to Jesus everyone who is willing to follow Jesus, the Savior of mankind.

God has blessed us with an awesome passage (Malachi 1:11) for our meditation, which emphasizes the sovereignty of the Lord God and that His name will be great among the nations and He will be worshipped throughout the universe, that is, from where the sun rises to where it sets. Although the Lord brought the Jewish remnant back to Jerusalem/Judah, and helped them rebuild the altar and the temple and reinstitute temple worship and other festivals, the people of Judah were not faithful to God (Malachi 2:11 [also refer to: Zechariah 10:3]), rather they had sinned against the Lord and turned away from the true worship of the Lord. Prophet Malachi condemned the unworthy sacrifices they offered to their God (Malachi 1:8; 2:8), their practice of their idolatry (Malachi 2:11), and social injustice (Malachi 3:5). Prophet Malachi noted some of the worst ever sins the people of Judah committed before the Lord:

Malachi 1:14 Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations

Malachi 2:1-2 And now, you priests, this warning is for you. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me

Malachi 2:11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god

Malachi 2:8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.

In the light of their unfaithfulness before the God of their fathers, prophet Malachi urged the people, in the place of their idolatry and nominal worship, to reestablish the covenant relationship with their Lord God, offer true worship to the Lord without desecrating the newly rebuilt altar and temple, trust in the Lord unswervingly, and keep the righteous laws and decrees the Lord had given them through His servant Moses at Horeb (Malachi 4:4), which are mentioned mainly in the first books of the Bible (from Genesis to Deuteronomy). Due to the ongoing unfaithfulness of the Jewish people, God declared His judgement upon them as prophet Malachi stated:

So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:5 [similar emphasis is found in Isaiah 61:1-2; Amos 5:11-15, 21-24; Micah 6:6-8])

As many of the Old Testament prophets talk about the Day of the Lord in a way that is likely to have far reaching impact on the inhabitants of earth, prophet Malachi also speaks about the Day of the Lord and its consequential impact on people. On the Day of the Lord, the Lord will judge the people according to their deeds – He will judge both the righteous and the wicked; and between the righteous and the unrighteous (Ecclesiastes 3:17). The Lord will punish people who practice unrighteousness, injustice, and evil in the sight of the Lord (John 15:4a) and, at the same time, He will refine the righteous to test their hearts (Malachi 3:2-3 [Psalm 66:10 [also refer to: 18:20-27]; Proverbs 17:3; Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9; John 15:4b; 1 Peter 1:7]). Prophet Malachi states that the Day of the Lord is going to be very terrible and dreadful for everyone who does evil in the sight of the Lord:

Malachi 3:2-3a But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver

Malachi 4:1 Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them

Malachi 4:5 See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes

Although, God intended to punish His people for their wrong doings, He will send His messenger prior to His judgement as it is prophesied by prophet Malachi:

Malachi 3:1 I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

Malachi 4:5-6 states: See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction

The messenger will prepare the way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3) and turn the hearts of the people back to God, especially the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents (Malachi 4:6). While Jesus was responding to His disciples’ questions regarding Elijah’s coming prior to the Day of the Lord, Jesus said to His disciples that, as per God’s promise, Elijah came but people did not recognize him, and the disciples realized that He was talking about John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7-13; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 1:11-17; 7:24-26; 9:28-36). Perhaps, he may come back again as one of the two witnesses God will send in the last days as we read in the book of Revelation 11:3-12.

Despite God’s promise of blessings to His people Israel/Judah (Malachi 3:6, 10-12), they failed the Lord in many ways. Prophet Malachi warned them against the complacency in their spiritual walk with their redeemer God, the God of Israel:

• • They failed to give due honor and respect to God their redeemer (Malachi 1:6)
  • They failed to fulfill the right kind of offering/sacrifice to God (Malachi 1:7-8)
  • The priests and other leaders failed in fulfilling their duties (Malachi 2:1-2)
  • The spiritual leaders and people alike were not faithful in marriage (Malachi 2:14-16)
  • They practiced sorcery, adultery, and perjury (Malachi 3:5a)
  • They defrauded laborers of their wages (Malachi 3:5b)
  • They oppressed the widows and the fatherless (Malachi 3:5c)
  • They deprived the foreigners among them of their justice (Malachi 3:5d)
  • They did not fear the Lord God who delivered/saved them (Malachi 3:5e)
  • They failed to repent and return to the Lord (Malachi 3:7)
  • They failed in bringing the required tithes into the house of God (Malachi 3:8-12 [also refer to: Malachi 1:10])
  • The priests and Levites took serving the Lord lightly (Malachi 3:13-15)

God, being the creator, blesses or judges everyone without looking who the person is (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:1-29), and pays them back as their deed deserves (Romans 2:6). We are all called to act in accordance with what is morally right and walk in God’s ways because every one of us is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Colossians 3:10-11). God is watching everyone (2 Chronicles 16:9a; Psalm 14:2; 53:2; 102:19; Proverbs 15:3), as  king Solomon noted in his writings that If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still (Ecclesiastes 5:8). Thus, God is the ultimate Judge over everyone/everything and His judgements are righteous and true. As the Lord judges and punishes the wicked and the unrighteous according to what their deeds deserve (Psalm 10:15; Isaiah 13:11; Jeremiah 36:31; Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Romans 1:18), the Lord judges and rewards the righteous according to what their deeds deserve but He will refine even the righteous (1 Samuel 26:23; Psalm 58:11; Proverbs 21:21; Romans 8:1; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sooner or later, without any distinction, the Lord God will save everyone who does what is right in His sight, for God does not look at the outward appearance, but at the heart and the inward qualities (1 Samuel 16:7; Colossians 3:10-11). Prophet Malachi stated that when the Day of the Lord comes, He will save His chosen ones of all times:

Malachi 3:17-18 On the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty, they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not

Malachi 4:2-3 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty

Dear friends, as we have seen in our meditation, God will save everyone who does what is right in the sight of the Lord (Malachi 3:17; 4:2) and the saved ones will worship the Lord across the world. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to Him, and God’s name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets (Malachi 1:11). As the followers of Christ, prophet Malachi encourages us to live our lives faithfully before God. As the Lord extends His mercy towards us, let us be grateful to God for His compassion and faithfulness to us and submit our remaining life for the ministry/service of God. May the Lord God bless us all! Amen!